ALBUM COVER STORY: NEQUIENT's "AVARICE

American Grind/Hardcore collective, Nequient, has released their third album, "Avarice" through Nefarious Industries. The record's panoramic sleeve artwork was hand-painted by Arifullah Ali, who has collaborated with several underground bands in recent times. In the following interview, Nequient's vocalist, Jason Kolkey, talks about this imposing work of art. 

The illustration adorning the front and back sleeves of "Avarice" is simply magnificent and also intriguing. What inspired this arresting vision?

Jason Kolkey: The cover artwork was primarily inspired by a song on the album entitled “Brain Worms.” It’s a (mostly) thrashy tune with lyrics focused on how our present media ecosystem twists people’s thoughts and perceptions, making them easy prey for charlatans in the world of politics and beyond. Notably, we completed this song very early in the writing process for this album, so it actually predates any revelations about the contents of RFK, Jr.’s skull. The cover captures the album’s pervading horror with an expressionistic vision of a giant worm constricting and devouring an agonized victim.

How did artist, Arifullah Ali, become involved in this project?

Jason Kolkey: Our guitar player, Patrick, connected with Arifullah after discovering and being impressed by his artwork on Instagram. We liked that he relied on traditional painting techniques, not digital tools, to achieve elaborately grotesque results. In general, we consult with an artistic collaborator early on in the process to approve a concept, but otherwise, leave them alone to pursue their own aesthetic ideas. That makes it especially important to select artists who have a strong, unique vision for their work.

The complete "Avarice" artwork.

Do you have any information about Arifullah's creative process? Was the definitive cover layout designed by someone else?

Jason Kolkey: Arifullah used oil paints on canvas. When asked about his approach, he said, “It's an intuitive process; there's no proper structure to the artwork besides the main composition and the color tone. My main focus is to visualize the intensity and the violent nature of the band's sound.”

After Arifullah sent the completed artwork, Scott Shellhamer —who was the cover artist and designer for our previous album, Darker Than Death or Night—took over. Scott provided a sense of visual consistency across the two records by retaining elements like the fonts and the use of a sun and moon motif to identify the two sides of the LP and cassette.

The official album cover features a revamped rendition of the Nequient's logo designed by Shellhamer.

Jason Kolkey: Our good friend, M.G. Miller (best known for his contributions to Bongripper's albums like Satan Worshiping Doom), designed the original Nequient logo along with creating the artwork for many of our early releases and merch offerings. When Scott Shellhamer took on the art and design for our second album, he felt that the record’s bleak atmosphere and death metal elements called for a corresponding makeover to the logo. With Avarice, he made further modifications inspired by the artwork. The original contours of the M.G. Miller logo are still visible, maintaining a consistent identity across our three full lengths, but the updated versions reflect the way the band’s sound and outlook have evolved over the years.

Order "Avarice" at https://nequient.bandcamp.com/album/avarice

See more of Arifullah Ali's work at https://www.instagram.com/kanvaskarat/

ALBUM COVER STORY: WYRMHAVEN's "SEASONS OF GLOOM"

American Death Metal band, Wyrmhaven, will unleash its debut full-length "Seasons Of Gloom" on May 29, 2006. The cover illustration was painted by acclaimed American artist, Adam Burke. Below, Wyrmhaven's guitarists, Travis Skye and Nick Cowan, provide information about the making of this portentous vision.

Why did you choose Adam Burke to create the cover illustration for your first album?

Travis Skye/Nick Cowan: We have followed Adam’s work for some time. He has made album art for a lot of notable bands and has a style that always seems to suit the group he’s working with. We feel very fortunate to have his talents bringing everything together for "Seasons Of Gloom." 

The image's main element seems to be a lightning striking a tree that is part of the ruins of an ancient setting. Other relevant elements are an eclipse and a storm looming in the horizon.

Travis Skye/Nick Cowan: This piece is a wonderful representation of the sonic realm we were trying to create, where beauty and terror can exist concurrently in an almost entirely unrelated way. The convergence of the apocalyptic and the celestial is a recurring theme throughout "Seasons Of Gloom" and Adam was able to convey this visually in a way that also seamlessly embedded the calm of a canyon landscape behind all of the chaos. The art ultimately represents the emotional and narrative components of the album, and we are honored to have worked with Adam.

The complete artwork has a panoramic format. The stormy landscape, the lightning striking the tree and the eclipse generate drama and feelings of utter doom.

Travis Skye/Nick Cowan: Adam paints otherworldly landscapes, using hand drawn techniques with acrylics and oils. Adam uses rich, beautiful, saturated colors to create moods for his art. 

The band's new logo was created by Belgian designer, Christophe "Lord of the Logos" Szpajdel. "Seasons Of Gloom" is the first release that features this logo on the cover.

Travis Skye/Nick Cowan: We felt very strongly about changing our logo for this new release. We wanted a logo that if you saw it, you knew exactly who it was. We worked together with Christophe Szpajdel to bring our new logo to life. We wanted to have an elegant look but still have an edge to it. We worked through a few different hand drawn designs to capture what our blend of melodic heavy music is. 

Pre-order "Season Of Gloom" at https://wyrmhaven.bandcamp.com/album/seasons-of-gloom

See more of Adam Burke's work at https://nightjarillustration.bigcartel.com/

ALBUM COVER STORY: AZIOLA CRY's "DYSPHORIA RITUAL"

American Instrumental Progressive Rock/Metal trio, Aziola Cry, just released its fourth album "Dysphoria Ritual" which features a cover illustration designed by Travis Smith (Opeth, Katatonia, Devin Townsend). In this short interview, guitarist Jason Blake talks about the collaboration with the talented American graphic artist.

How did Travis Smith get involved in the making of the cover for "Dysphoria Ritual"? 

Jason Blake: I have been a fan of Travis's album covers for some time now. His unique style has always appealed to me. I had an overall vision for this album's presentation, and I felt Travis was the only person who could achieve it. I reached out to him, which began the process. He is an incredibly kind and creative person to work with. 

It seems that Travis used different mediums to create this piece.

Jason Blake: Travis said that the artwork was a mixture of photographic and painted elements and textures. For example, the eye is not a photograph of an eye, but a few different photographic elements cut out and assembled into an eye and then mixed with some painting and texturing. The same applies to the hands which were photographed, distorted and then painted over in some places.

This is a quite surreal graphic that transmits feelings of isolation, loneliness, despair, etc. What Inspired the cover concept?

Jason Blake: I presented the album's concept to Travis and showed him a previous cover by the band, so he understood our overall aesthetic. With the overarching theme of isolation in mind, Travis did his thing and returned with a cover that perfectly represented the album's subject matter and the direction I sought to move the band into.

"Dysphoria Ritual" is available through 7D Media. Order at https://7dmedia.com/aziola-cry-dr

See more of Travis Smith's work at https://seempieces.com/

NEW BOOK "...AND JUSTICE FOR ART - ULTIMATE EDITION" NOW AVAILABLE

The new book "...And Justice For Art - Ultimate Edition" is now available to the general public! This 372-page, hardcover volume contains more than 700 graphics and 120 exclusive comments and interviews from bands like Opeth, Amorphis, Paradise Lost, Cattle Decapitation, Testament, Dream Theater, Sodom, Mayhem, Enslaved, Slayer, and graphic artists such as Travis Smith, Mark Wilkinson, Eliran Kantor, Andreas Marschall, Costin Chioreanu and many more.

This edition is limited to 500 copies. If you are going to buy just one book about Heavy Metal art in your life, this might be the one! A truly epic journey through the art of heavy music.

Order and see more details about the book at https://andjusticeforart.bigcartel.com/product/pre-order-book-and-justice-for-art-ultimate-edition

Use the discount code to save 10% on your purchase.

We ship almost to almost every country in the world. For more information, contact us at andjusticeforart@gmail.com

ALBUM COVER STORY: NIGHTS OF MALICE's "CHAOS EXORDIUM"

American extreme metallers, Nights Of Malice, will unleash their new album "Chaos Exordium" on June 4, 2026. The front and back cover artworks (which portray a violent, Sci-Fi scenario) designed by Andriy Tkalenko of Daemorph Art. In the following interview, the bands drummer, Joe Capasso, talks about the making of these graphics. 

What inspired the concept for the album's front and back sleeve artworks? 

Joe Capasso: The inspiration for the album artwork was the title itself “Chaos Exordium”, which is essentially the inception of chaos. That was our goal with this album, to grow from what we have typically done in the past with darker, more atmospheric styles. This time we wanted to pull out all the stops and bring maximum energy. The artwork embodies that perfectly with the first-person perspective feeling surrounded by monsters, police shooting, people exploding all around, perfectly complimenting the music.

How did the band discover the works of Daemorph Art?

Joe Capasso: We discovered Andriy Tkalenko (Daemorph Art) through many of his other works for bands within our style such as The Black Dahlia Murder and Abominable Putridity. We felt as though he could capture our vision and really put himself in the middle of the chaos and bring our vision to life.

Daemorph Art apparently employs a mixture of different mediums, including traditional and digital techniques. Did he share with you updates of the artwork's evolution?

Joe Capasso: Not the full process, but from what we saw it was first hand-drawn and then converted to digital. 

The back cover artwork.

The rendition of the band's logo featured on the cover goes hand-in-hand with the violent, Sci-Fi vibe of the scene. 

Joe Capasso: The logo is a redesign of our existing logo made by Maxwell Aston. For the album artwork/promo for this cycle we had a stylized version created by our friend Amber Cherie to give a three-dimensional chrome variant. We felt this would perfectly fit with the atmosphere of the artwork, as well as help portray the new beginnings for the band’s approach to writing. 

Nights Of Malice's "Chaos Exordium" will be released through Bleeding Art Collective / Blood Blast Distribution.

See more of Daemorph Art's work at www.facebook.com/daemorph and https://www.instagram.com/daemorph/

ALBUM COVER STORY: VOMITORY's "IN DEATH THROES"

Swedish Death Metal collective, Vomitory, just released its new album "In Death Throes" through Metal Blade Records. The cover artwork was crafted by Giannis Nakos of Remedy Art Design. Below, the Greek artist and Vomitory's drummer, Tobias Gustafsson, talk about the making of this artwork and other collaborations.

How did the band discover the works of Giannis Nakos?

Tobias Gustafsson: I've seen his artworks for different bands over the years, and I think his work is amazing. We were first in contact in 2014 when my band Cut Up was looking to get a band logo. We didn't use any of Giannis' logo drafts though, but I noticed right away that he was a cool guy and very easy to communicate with. So, when we were working on the previous Vomitory album "All Heads Are Gonna Roll", we asked him to do the cover art for it. And since he did a fantastic job on that one, we hired him once again for our new album "In Death Throes."

The cover for "In Death Throes" looks very apocalyptic. What is this image depicting?

Giannis Nakos: The initial idea was based on a reference given to me by the band. The whole of humanity is coming to an end. The sky being blood red and cracked, and in the center: a figure in the throes of death, surrounded by others like it, half alive, half ashes. The whole idea is as Death Metal as it can get. So we went for a decaying guy, being ripped from existence. Pretty iconic and with a straight to your face depiction.

Giannis, how did you create this artwork?

Giannis Nakos: This is a digital illustration indeed. A mixture of photobashing and digital drawing to be more precise. The digital medium always makes retouching and re-visiting parts of the art easier.

INTERVIEW WITH RCMPATCHES: MERCH AND PATCHES FOR THE WORLD

Based in Edmonton, Canada, RCMPatches is a company dedicated to producing merch for a broad variety of Metal/Rock ventures. Its mission is to help artists and businesses to offer their fans high-quality products. In the following interview, one of RCMP's founders talks about the company's maneuvers.

RCMPatches' logo, desgined by Michal Proninski.

What motivated you to start a project like RCMPatches? 

RCMPatches: RCMPatches was bred out of the desire to work in conjunction with bands I loved in an official capacity, to offer an alternative means of income for those bands, as well as hopefully helping people to discover new music that they may not have otherwise heard. At the end of the day, it's obviously nice to sell patches so I can make more, but if someone discovers a band that impacts them in a special way, that's what my goal truly is.

There are a lot of bootleg merchants out there and while I understand the value and the history behind bootlegs (live records, demos, merchandise, etc.) it's just not something I was personally interested in. For me, it meant a lot more to get a message back from a band I loved giving me the thumbs up to produce a design or a piece of merch and sharing that excitement with me than to just produce whatever I wanted. That also seemed rather lazy and too easy to me...it was always more satisfying to put in the effort and patience and then get approval from heroes of mine. I started in 2023 and have worked with pioneering legends of the death metal scene as well as up and coming legends in the making, and beyond that, I've built relationships and am grateful and honored to call many of these people my friends now. You don't get that just by bootlegging everybody's shit. I have nothing really against bootleg merchants at the end of the day, it just was not the avenue I wanted to take. 

It seems that your signature products are patches. Can you describe the process of creating a patch?

RCMPatches: The process really can take many different directions, but usually I'll develop a mockup of a design using some piece of artwork in the bands catalog, be it from albums, singles, t-shirts, or even old posters. A Possessed one I did in particular was taken from a design done for one tour in Europe, I believe it was 2019, and I used bits and pieces from that to create something new that hadn't been done before.

Other times, I've hired artists independently or worked with bands to hire artists to commission a piece that's used for a patch design. Although not exclusive, they're usually drawn from the start with the intent of becoming a patch. We've worked with many artists in the scene including Gruesome Graphx, Claw Eight and Michal Proninski. I've also commissioned artwork for patches without having had communication with the band, just so I had something unique to present them, which given my principle of only working officially with the bands, really becomes a gamble. If I don't make it through to them, it ultimately becomes a dead piece of artwork. I don't really mind in the end since it's ultimately commissioning an artist anyways, so the scene still gets some support at the end of the day. That really means the most to me. I'll forever be grateful to get to work with such talented individuals and to get to be a part of this community.

Some of the patches produced by RCMPatches.

Do you also produce any other kinds of merchandise?

RCMPatches: We have branched off into many different types of merchandise. I think, even if it wasn't a conscious thought or trajectory, it was always going to be a natural progression of things to produce different forms of merchandise and physical media. 

We've since done limited runs of t-shirts, long-sleeve shirts, all over print shirts, basketball jerseys, flags, lanyards, pins, unconventional things like fuzzy dice (which nobody seems to know were a thing, I guess? Haha) CDs, cassette tapes. Most recently, I worked with a killer band called Bonginator that surrounded the release of their latest album "Retrodeath" (featuring art by the amazingly talented Dan Goldsworthy and out now on Testimony Records) that consisted of 80s themed windbreakers, hats, fanny packs, and pit viper glasses. 

If a band wants something done, I will always do my best to find a way to bring an idea to reality. It's my favorite thing to do, especially when people tell me, "It can't be done." 

Despite being a Canadian company, you are an international business. You receive orders from all over the world. 

RCMPatches: We ship worldwide and have worked with bands worldwide as well. It's still surreal to me, having grown up in a small town of maybe 100 people and one main road, that people from Cyprus or Japan are ordering patches from me. I get a lot of customers from the UK as well which is really cool. It just goes to show you that Metal is a universal language that breaks down borders and division, and that transcendence of traditional language and thought is something truly beautiful.

RCMPatches and the band, Satorum, sponsored part of the bookmarks for the new book "...And Justice For Art: Stories About Heavy Metal Album Covers - Ultimate Edition."

You also distribute physical records by underground Metal bands. Tell us more about it.

RCMPatches: I've been an avid collector, fan, and supporter of physical media ever since I was a kid. It's truly an honor to get to work with bands now to bring those pieces of physical media to life. Right now, I've only released around 15 pieces between CDs and cassette tapes myself, although I carry hundreds of titles in my distro store (some of which I'm still working through uploading to the store). It's really insane to me, for example, to get to work with a band like Tenebro based all the way in Italy, but it really is the best feeling when I get to work with a band in my local scene of Edmonton. I look forward to eventually releasing an Edmonton collaboration tape that showcases what our city has to offer for metal. The scene here is absolutely blossoming with insane talent and musicianship that people need to hear. 

I've created a branch off of RCMPatches called Sputum Records and that's where most of my releases will be done through moving forward. I felt that many people who buy physical media don't care about patches, and lots of people who buy patches just want patches. It also sounds a bit better on a CD release to have "Sputum Records" as opposed to a patch company name. On an artistic note, both logos for RCMPatches and Sputum Records were done by Michal Proninski. 

How can bands and artists contact you to produce merch or distribute music?

RCMPatches: I do have a contact form on my website, www.rcmpatches.com, but bands can hit me up on Instagram or via email at contact@rcmpatches.com. Facebook is a bot ridden cesshole, so chances are if you message me there, I won't ever open it.

Any final comments?

RCMPatches: Support Death Metal, support your local scene, go to a show and mosh hard. 

ALBUM COVER STORY: EVERGREY's "ARCHITECTS OF A NEW WEAVE"

Swedish metallers, Evergrey and fellow countryman artist Mattias Norén of ProgArt Media - Artwork by Mattias Norén have worked together for more than 20 years. Their latest collaboration is the imagery Norén crafted for the band's new album “Architects Of A New Weave," which will be released in May 2026.

This hyper-detailed vision was traditionally painted and fine-tuned digitally and reflects aspects of the album's music and lyrics. in the following interview, Evergrey's vocalist/guitarist, Tom S. Englund and Mattias Norén talk about the making of this imposing piece.

What inspired the cover concept for "Architects Of A New Weave"?

Tom S. Englund: We wanted to do something that was more traditional in a Metal sense. When me and Mattias Norén started talking I let him know what I desired and that I also wanted a lot of nuggets and hidden messages, so that it would remind myself of the days when I was totally immersed into cover art of Iron Maiden mostly. So, there is a lot to discover if you dive in and examine it. If you also listen to the music, it will make a lot of sense.

Mattias Norén: The idea was born with a figure with threads that led to pictures where each picture represented a song from the record. I bought a paper twice the size of any watercolor I had done before. I didn't even have a base big enough to tape the paper to, so I had to buy a second-hand tabletop to be able to work with the project. The plan was that the cover would only be a small part of the entire painting. I thought for a long time about how to make the best use of this. I don't know if it was the ultimate solution, but it was good enough. I divided it into six parts, of which the cover is only one of the parts."

The image on the album's official cover is just a fragment of the complete artwork.

Tom S. Englund: The cover is indeed part of a pretty huge piece. Again, the old love for vinyl covers led us further and we wanted some art to represent almost every song of the album, and on the fold out versions of the album you get it all in all its glory! It's definitely one of Mattias's proudest moments, he told me so... but also for me and also knowing it's all done for real, with brushes and watercolor, then we added some of the nuggets digitally, but I own the original painting and can't wait to hang it on my wall at home!

Mattias Norén: I guess I will have to call this my "magnum opus." An enormous amount of time, love and effort that was invested in it.

Mattias also designed other illustrations for the album's layout/booklet. 

Tom S. Englund: Each and every page has more or less dedicated art for the song. Mattias has also painted more paintings for songs like "The Shadow Self," "Call of your Lions," etc.

You have collaborated (regularly and sporadically) in different projects during the last two decades. It has been a fruitful creative relationship.

Tom S. Englund: Mattias has worked on a lot of Evergrey's covers starting with our third album "In Search Of Truth" (2001). He did a bunch of them. Mattias also worked on some of the art for my band Silent Skies and I love his sense of art direction and also layout skills. 

Mattias Norén: It's now 25 years since I made my first cover for Evergrey. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then and the older I get, the more I want to explore what can be done with an album cover. It's easy to get stuck in old habits but I'm driven by trying new things.

Pre-order “Architects Of A New Weave" at https://napalmrecords.com/deutsch/evergrey

See more of Mattias Norén's work at https://www.progart.com/

ALBUM COVER STORY MOONSPELL's "FAR FROM GOD"

Israeli artist, Eliran Kantor, designed the cover for "Far From God," the upcoming new album by Portuguese Gothic metallers, Moonspell.

"This is an idea I've had in my head for quite a few years and was waiting for the right opportunity to finally flesh out," comments Kantor, referring to the powerful visual metaphor portrayed in this artwork. He and Moonspell's vocalist, Fernando Ribeiro, "started talking about possible directions [for the cover artwork] very early in the writing, and during the process, the music took a turn toward the interplay between the dark, the romantic and the melancholic. That's when this idea found its home."

"Far From God" will be released through Napalm Records.

Pre-order directly from the band at https://www.moonspell.rastilho.com/

See more of Eliran Kantor's work at https://elirankantor.com/

ALBUM COVER STORY: ARMORED SAINT's "EMOTION FACTORY RESET"

American Heavy Metal veterans, Armored Saint, just announced the release of their upcoming new album, "Emotion Factory Reset."

The cover artwork was digitally designed by graphic artist, DDKing. The main element of this graphic is a medieval knight that has been featured (in various guises) on the covers of some of the band's previous records. "We recognize we have an association with the imagery of a knight because we have used that on a few of our covers and even in merchandising," comments bassist Joey Vera.

"We played on the whole 'reset' aspect," Vera continues. "In my view, every time we make a new record, it's a new birth of sorts. A tearing down and rebuilding ourselves each time so that we give birth to something new or different. I was taking the idea of what Kali, the Hindu Goddess is. She destroys in order to liberate or renew. The fire you see is a representation of that destruction. The viewer is catching the knight during his shedding of old skin, and you can see he is not yet whole, and he is holding the flame as a way to show he is harnessing the change in himself. He's like a butterfly coming out of a cocoon."

Vera reveals that the original cover sketches were created with AI. However, he assures that DDKing created the definitive artwork digitally "until we were happy."

"Emotion Factory Reset" will be released on May 22 through Metal Blade Records. Pre-order at https://www.metalblade.com/armoredsaint/